Stilbite

Stilbite is the name of a series of

tectosilicate minerals of the zeolite group.
Prior to 1997, stilbite was recognized as a
mineral species, but a reclassification in
1997 by the International Mineralogical
Association changed it to a series name,
with the mineral species being named:

stilbite-Ca
stilbite-Na
 Stilbite

General

Category Tectosilicate, Zeolite

Formula Stilbite-Ca:
(repeating unit) NaCa4(Si27Al9)O72·28(H2O)
Stilbite-Na:
Na9(Si27Al9)O72·28(H2O)

Strunz classification 9.GE.10 (10 ed)

8/J.23-30 (8 ed)

Dana classification 77.1.4.3

Crystal system Monoclinic,

also triclinic and
 orthorhombic

Crystal class Prismatic (2/m)

(same H-M symbol)

Identification

Formula mass Stilbite-Ca: 2,840 g/mol

Stilbite-Na: 2,864 g/mol

Color Usually colorless, white

or pink

Crystal habit Thin tabular, aggregates

sheaf-like or in bow-ties,
also fibrous and
globular.

Twinning Very common on {001}

Cleavage Perfect on {010}

Fracture Conchoidal or uneven

Tenacity Brittle
Mohs scale hardness 31⁄2 to 4

Luster Vitreous, pearly on

{010}

Streak White

Diaphaneity Transparent to
translucent

Specific gravity 2.12 to 2.22

Optical properties Biaxial (-)

Refractive index Nx = 1.479 to 1.492, Ny

= 1.485 to 1.500, Nz =
1.489 to 1.505[1][2]

Nx = 1.484 to 1.500, Ny
= 1.492 to 1.507, Nz =
1.494 to 1.513[3][4]

Fusibility Easily fused by

blowpipe (~1050 °C) to

 blowpipe ( 1050 C) to
produce a white
"enamel"[5]

Solubility Decomposes in HCl[5]

References [2] [3] [4] [6] [7]

[8]

Stilbite-Ca, by far the more common of the

two, is a hydrous calcium sodium and
aluminium silicate,
NaCa4(Si27Al9)O72·28(H2O). In the case of
stilbite-Na, sodium dominates over
calcium. The species are visually
indistinguishable, and the series name
stilbite is still used whenever testing has
not been performed.
History
At one time heulandite and stilbite were
considered to be identical minerals. After
they were found to be two separate
species, in 1818, the name desmine ("a
bundle") was proposed for stilbite, and this
name is still employed in Germany. The
English name "stilbite" is from the Greek
stilbein = to shine, because of the pearly
luster of the {010} faces.

Chemistry and related

species
Stilbite shows a wide variation in
exchangeable cations: silicon and
aluminium ions occupy equivalent sites
and can substitute for each other. Since
silicon and aluminium have a different
charge (Si4+ and Al3+) the ions occupying
the sodium/calcium site have to adjust to
maintain charge balance. There is a
continuous series between stellerite,
whose formula can be written as
Ca4(Si28Al8)O72·28(H2O), and stilbite, and
another continuous series between stilbite
and barrerite, Na8(Si28Al8)O72·26(H2O).

Epistilbite is a distinct zeolite species

unrelated to stilbite.

Crystal class
Stilbite is usually monoclinic 2/m, meaning
that it has one twofold axis of rotational
symmetry perpendicular to a mirror plane.
The twofold axis is the crystal axis b, and
the a and c crystal axes lie in the mirror
plane. For a monoclinic crystal a and c are
inclined to each other at an angle β which
is not a right angle. For stilbite β is nearly
130°. Stilbite crystals, however, appear to
be almost orthorhombic, and a larger unit
cell can be chosen, containing two formula
units (Z = 2) such that it looks like an
orthorhombic cell, with all three crystal
axes very nearly mutually perpendicular.
The mineral is said to be pseudo-
orthorhombic.
Non-endmember forms of stilbite may be
triclinic or even truly orthorhombic, indeed
the framework can have symmetry ranging
from orthorhombic to triclinic in a single
crystal.[1]

Habit
Crystals are typically thin tabular, flattened
parallel to the dominant cleavage and
elongated along the an axis. Aggregates
may be sheaf-like or in bow-ties, also
fibrous and globular.[1] Twinning, cruciform
and penetration, is extremely common on
{001}.[6]
Physical and optical
properties
The color is usually colorless or white, also
yellow, brown, pink, salmon, orange, red,
green, blue or black. The luster is generally
vitreous, and on the perfect cleavage
parallel to the plane of symmetry it is
markedly pearly. The streak is white and
crystals are transparent to translucent.
The hardness is 31⁄2 to 4 and the specific
gravity 2.12 to 2.22. Cleavage is perfect on
{010}, poor on {001}.[1] The mineral is
brittle, with a conchoidal or uneven
fracture. It is not radioactive.

Stilbite is biaxial (-) with refractive indices:

 Nx = 1.479 to 1.492, Ny = 1.485 to 1.500,
Nz = 1.489 to 1.505[1][2]
Nx = 1.484 to 1.500, Ny = 1.492 to 1.507,
Nz = 1.494 to 1.513[3][4]

Unit cell and structure

Where sources give cell parameters for
stilbite-Na, they are the same as those for
stilbite-Ca.

The unit cell can be considered as a

monoclinic cell with β close to 130° and
one formula unit per unit cell (Z = 1), or as
a larger pseudo-orthorhombic cell with β
close to 90° and Z = 2.
Cell Parameters for the monoclinic cell:
 a = 13.595 to 13.69 Å, b = 18.197 to
18.31 Å, c = 11.265 to 11.30 Å, β =
127.94 to 128.1°[6]
a = 13.63 Å, b = 18.17 Å, c = 11.31 Å, β =
129.166°[2][3][7][8]
a = 13.60 to 13.69 Å, b = 18.20 to 18.31
Å, c = 11.27 Å, β = 128°[1]

Cell parameters for the pseudo-

orthorhombic cell:

a = 13.595 to 13.69 Å, b = 18.197 to

18.31 Å, c = 17.775 to 17.86 Å, β = 90.00
to 90.91°[6]
a = 13.595 to 13.657 Å, b = 18.197 to
18.309 Å, c = 17.775 to 17.842 Å, β =
 90:05 to 90.91°[4] (Z is doubled to Z = 4
because the formula unit halved to
NaCa2Al5Si13O36.14H2O)
a=13.69 Å, b=18.25 Å, c=11.31 Å, β
=128.2°[9]
a = 13.60 to 13.69 Å, b = 18.20 to 18.31
Å, c = 17.78 to 17.86 Å, β = 90.0 to
90.91°[1]

The framework of stilbite is pseudo-

orthorhombic with the open channels
typical of zeolites. It has 10-member rings
and 8-member rings forming channels
parallel to a and pseudo-orthorhombic c
respectively.[9]
Uses
The open channels in the stilbite structure
act like a molecular sieve, enabling it to
separate hydrocarbons in the process of
petroleum refining.

Environment
Stilbite is a low-temperature secondary
hydrothermal mineral. It occurs in the
amygdaloidal cavities of basaltic volcanic
rocks, in andesites, gneiss and
hydrothermal veins. It also forms in hot
springs deposits, and as a cementing
agent in some sandstones and
conglomerates.[4] Stilbite has not been
found in sedimentary tuff deposits or
deep-sea deposits.[1] Associated minerals
are other zeolites, prehnite, calcite and
quartz.[4]

Localities
Stilbite is abundant in the volcanic rocks of
Iceland, Faroe Islands, Isle of Skye, Bay of
Fundy, Nova Scotia (where it is the
provincial mineral), northern New Jersey
and North Carolina. Salmon-pink crystals
occur with pale green apophyllite in the
Deccan Traps near Mumbai (Bombay) and
Pune, India; white sheaf-like groups
encrust the calcite (Iceland-spar) of
Berufjord near Djupivogr in Iceland; brown
sheafs are found near Paterson, New
Jersey in the United States; and crystals of
a brick-red color are found at Old
Kilpatrick, Scotland.[10]

Iceland is generally considered to be the

type locality for stilbite-Ca. It is presumed
to be the Helgusta Iceland Spar Mine,
along Reydarfjordur. Excellent white bow
ties of stilbite are found here on calcite
and quartz, associated with heulandite and
laumontite in cavities.[1]

The type locality for stilbite-Na is Cape

Pula, Pula, Cagliari Province, Sardinia, Italy.
Small, lustrous, white or pink, pointed
blades of stilbite-Na, and formless
masses, up to 5 cm in diameter, have been
found there, covering a thin crust of
reddish heulandite in large fractures and
cavities in the highly weathered volcanic
andesite or rhyolite.

The Tertiary Deccan basalts of western

India are the most prolific sources of
stilbite in the world. Stilbite is the most
abundant zeolite in the tholeiitic basalt
plateaux near Nasik and Pune and
decreases in abundance toward the coast
at Mumbai.[1]
Photo gallery
Green Stilbite-Ca, which gets its color from
inclusions of celadonite

Clustered on a matrix of white chalcedony

are a group of light salmon stilbite
crystals; adjoining is a cluster of mint
green fluorapophyllite crystals
green fluorapophyllite crystals

Intergrown pinkish stilbite crystals

showing the "bow-tie" habit from Jalgaon
District, Maharashtra, India.
Stilbite crystals aggregates in fans shapes
from Wassons Bluff, Nova Scotia.

Reddish-orange Stilbite-Ca from Jalgaon

District, Maharashtra, India
References
1. Rudy W. Tschernich (1992) Zeolites of
the World. Geoscience Press
2. http://webmineral.com/data/Stilbite-
Ca.shtml
3. http://www.mindat.org/min-7313.html
stilbite-Ca
4.
http://www.handbookofmineralogy.org/pdfs
/stilbiteca.pdf
5. Klein, Cornelis and Cornelius S. Hurlbut,
1985, Manual of Mineralogy, Wiley, pp. 465–
466 ISBN 0-471-80580-7
6. Gaines et al (1997) Dana’s New
Mineralogy Eighth Edition. Wiley
7. http://www.mindat.org/min-7314.html
stilbite-Na
8. http://webmineral.com/data/Stilbite-
Na.shtml
9. American Mineralogist (1970) 55: 387–
397
10. Spencer 1911.
Attribution
 This article incorporates text from a
publication now in the public
domain: Spencer, Leonard James
(1911). "Stilbite". In Chisholm, Hugh.
Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.).
Cambridge University Press.

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